Together by Mike Gecan - Lenter Reader, Year B

 A re-reading of Ephesians reminds us of its forward-looking perspective, described in the text as “in the ages to come.” But it also highlights another aspect of the dynamic described by the writer: the fact that we are equipped to move into the ages to come together, not individually.

He “hath quickened us together…..

“And hath he raised us together, and made us sit together….

“For we are his workmanship….

“For he is our peace…and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us….

“No therefor ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens….”

 This emphasis on the fundamental need and the primary value of engaging others and working together is one of the main sources of inspiration for those who organize. The scriptures call us to relate – both in our private lives and in our public lives. And the art and practice of the individual meeting – a one-to-one, face-to-face encounter with a neighbor, a congregant, a co-worker – is the essential starting point for all new and deepening public relationships. In the act of meeting, other persons cease to be strangers or stereotypes to us, and we cease to be strangers or stereotypes to them. The act of meeting individually is radical in the best sense – investing the time and energy to get to the root of relationships. And it forms the foundation for other, larger moments of togetherness – house meetings, research meetings, and public actions of all kinds.

This profoundly collective and relational vision informs the organizing done by the Metro Industrial Areas Foundation affiliate DuPage, Kane, Lake and Cook counties, with the support of Episcopal Charities. Even during this dreadful pandemic, the leaders of these organizations have continued to stay together and to act together. Over the past year, for instance, more than 200 leaders of all faiths, races, and incomes have gathered for training and development sessions led by organizers Amy Totsch, Amy Lawless, Adrienne McCauley, Greg Pierce and others. In a safely distant and fully masked setting, a team of 20 leaders met with Illinois Senate President Donald Harmon – in an event that was viewed by more than 500 other leaders in their homes. The goal was to secure capital budget funds for housing, including $30 million for the affordable housing and specialized housing for those struggling with mental illness – important priorities of the four organizations.

In an outdoor setting, again safely distant and fully masked, 61 leaders met with west side Alderman Michael Scott to welcome his commitment to rebuild the entire west side, beginning with an initial phase of 250 affordable Nehemiah homes. While the process of organizing – the long-term and sometimes pain-staking process of building relationships and deepening trust among diverse leaders – is often seen as less important and less dramatic than the tangible results of organizing, the size and scale of those results depend heavily on the quality of this relational work. If there is no powerful “we,” if there is no true sense of togetherness, then the ability to create meaningful change, to march into better ages to come, is limited. But what about the results? It’s not just about time – the ages to come – it’s also about physical space – the new and better and more just places to come.

One example of a better place to come – as a result of the work supported by Episcopal Charities -- is the creation of 48 affordable and accessible apartments, with appropriate services, in Elgin. Local leaders from Elgin congregations, capably assisted by Metro IAF organizer Elizabeth Moriarty, built a broad and deep base of support for this much-needed housing. These leaders calmly and firmly withstood an attempt by a small but hostile faction to keep what this group perceived to be ‘strangers and foreigners’ out of the community. The congregational leaders prevailed. The Elgin City Council members unanimously approved the 48 units. The project is being used as a model by DuPage County, whose board members agreed to construct six additional developments just like the Elgin effort.

 In Lake County, the Metro IAF affiliate received a Letter of Intent from a major health institution to donate more than 25 acres of its land for affordable housing in Waukegan. Leaders there have also set up free wi-fi service in five Waukegan neighborhoods so that students, families, and other residents can begin to access education, health, and employment opportunities in areas that have been historically underserved and disconnected.

In Cook County, as described, Metro IAF leaders pressed forward in the middle of the pandemic to secure sites for the start of what our leaders envision as the complete rebuilding of the west and south sides – revitalization without gentrification. That effort is being supported by an extraordinary “greenlining campaign” being spearheaded by All Saints Episcopal Church, whose members have donated $250,000 toward the construction of a model home in Lawndale and the hiring and training of a new organizer there. Across the region, Metro IAF affiliates have designed and initiated a new Community Purchasing Alliance (CPA) so that congregations, schools, health centers, social service agencies, and non-profits can negotiate together for their energy, equipment, materials, and other needs. This will help reduce these costs so that more money can be spent on the vital, direct, relational work that is so critical to the reknitting and rebuilding of our broken or strained relationships with our fellow citizens.

Each action and event by the organizations supported by Episcopal Charities demonstrates the power of people working together. The leaders who have led and sustained these actions have translated the image in Ephesians of “the middle wall of partition” being broken down into the reality of dynamic new relationships, imaginative new solutions to complex social problems, and new policies and new facilities that enable more of God’s children to live the fullest possible lives. The vision of a better time and more beautiful space come together in another text in the Book of Zechariah: “There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with a staff in his hand because of age. And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing there.” -MG

All photos provided by Metro IAF